Should smoking be banned in all public places?

Should smoking be banned in public places? *Argument for a total ban* In November 2004, The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) reported that exposure to second hand smoke (or passive smoking - Passive smoking is defined as breathing in other people’s smoke) was a serious risk to non-smokers. They report indicated that the chances of a non-smoker contracting lung and heart disease were increased by about 24%. This estimate was derived from the overview of 37 studies and 4626 cases. According to the report and almost identical estimate was reported by the International Agency for ... more

So the ban is three-years-old and the signs, health wise, are good. Heart attacks are down an incredible 40% and people will live longer because of that, some 40,000 people giving up smoking in the last year alone, according to the NHS own quit smoking scheme. But the Accident & Emergency departments are not necessarily quieter because the government, rather hypocritically, decided to boost drinking hours, putting in place 24 hour boozing, which has increased fatal knife attacks and drunken crime. So what is the government playing at? If its a tax ploy it isnt working either, fag sales down 7% ... more

Ahhh smoking.....for some people it's a choice (yeah right) and for others it's an addiction... It's fairly easy to say what I think on this one, but the intricacies make it so much more difficult when you factor human rights into the equation. Firstly, my person opinion is yes, ban smoking in public places, it smells, it's downright rude, it's not nice seeing fag butts littering the streets and it's plain not fair. You may think I'm being a bit of a hypocrite, seeing as I've just become a non smoker (week and a half without a cigarette -yay!) but even whe I did smoke, I didn't really feel ... more

This issue has become rather emotive in recent times and I think the many different strands of the argument have become confused. First of all let me say that I come to the debate as an occasional smoker in the past with a background in medical science. I also like to think of myself as a libertarian. PERSONAL FREEDOM In a free society people's freedoms have to be protected, people should have a right to choose to do what they want even if this is to some extent dangerous to their own health. I'm not just talking about smoking specifically but other 'dangerous' activities like mountaineering ... more

I've read several opinions now on this subject, many of which question the need for a ban, and would like to put the case for why I think smoking should be banned in public places. I live in Scotland, where a smoking ban has already been agreed and will be implemented on March 26 2006, under the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005. I'm delighted that this legislation has been passed and feel that it does reflect a progressive approach to the issue and a genuine concern for public health on the part of the Scottish Executive. Why is a ban necessary? First I'd like to look at the ... more